Darwin Watterson
Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemius Watterson III is the deuteragonist in The Amazing World of Gumball. He used to be Gumball's pet goldfish, but, one day, he grew legs and generally adapted to life outside of water, so he was adopted by the Wattersons. Background Official Description "Darwin used to be the family pet until he sprouted legs and became one of the Wattersons. He's innocent, naive and Gumball's best friend." Development Voice Characterization Physical Appearance Darwin is an orange goldfish with arms and legs. His goldfish-shaped head takes up his entire body, with his fins and legs hanging down from it. He has retained his goldfish tail and fins, the latter of which he now uses as arms and hands. His legs are much longer than his body, ending with plain feet matching the color and texture of the rest of his body. Usually, though, he covers them with green and white sneakers. Darwin is also shown to have a bubbly butt on the back of his head, as revealed in the official trailer. A common misconception in Season 1 was that he also wore a black shirt, as well as pants, but, that was actually just a shadow cast by his big head. The inside of Darwin's mouth is red, and his tongue is orange-red. Darwin apparently has thick coatings of blubber, making him resistant to massive pain, as he is shown unharmed in "The Responsible," after a painful face-first slap on a concrete sidewalk from way up in the air. The blubber's depth is about the length of Gumball's arm, as shown in "The DVD," where Gumball had to sink his whole arm into Darwin's head just to reach his cheekbone. Darwin also thinks he has perfect skin as shown in "The DVD." Whenever Darwin's feet are bare, they are often pixelated, as in "The Meddler." However, sometimes they are not pixelated, as shown in "The Club," when he is swimming, in "The Goons," when he is toe wrestling Richard, and in "The Dream," when they end up in the mall without having his shoes on. In "The Dream," he says that he considers his feet worthy of a censor, because, it is the only place he wears clothes. In Season 2, Darwin gets a redesign. His black shadow is more transparent, almost to the point where it's not noticeable. Also, his legs get slightly fatter, and he loses one eyelash on each eye (two on each eye instead of three). Like Gumball, his eyes are more round. His voice also started to sound slightly deeper, and whenever he screams, his voice squeaks, probably due to Kwesi Boakye, his voice actor, entering puberty. In Season 3, Darwin's eyes are permanently round along with the rest of his family. Personality Darwin is a very happy and positive person. He always tries to see the best in most of the scenarios he's in, and in general, always tries to have a smile on his face. Not only does he desire to be happy, but he also desires to see others happy. His selfless acts of happiness can be seen in episodes such as "The Fan," "The Advice," and "The Stories." In all three episodes, he chooses to do the things he does in order to make a particular sad person happier. Darwin is also a very grateful person, as seen in "The Flower" and "The Night;" both episodes show Darwin not wanting much and just being happy with his current life. Darwin is also very optimistic; he expects the best in people, and he has a romantic and somewhat naive view on the world. His idealistic and naive viewpoints can be seen in "The Wicked," in which despite his brother's views and Mrs. Robinson'sobvious malicious intent, he firmly believes that Mrs. Robinson is a good person at heart, and that there is a reason for her actions. Darwin has a strong sense of honesty; he also desires to tell the truth, no matter how much trouble it may cause. His strong sense of honesty can be seen in "The Shell" and "The Gift," in which he can't adhere to the simplest of Gumball's white lies. His honesty can also be seen in "The Words," in which his brutal honesty is a source of conflict for the episode. Darwin is also morally grounded in general; he's typically the one to stop his siblings from doing anything wrong, and he is slow to take "shady" approaches. Darwin's reluctance to do anything wrong can be seen in "The DVD," in which he tells Gumball not to pirate Alligators on a Train, opting for a more honest and cleaner route. This trait of Darwin is what causes Gumball to see him as a "moral guardian" as evidenced in "The Sidekick." Darwin is also very sensitive and empathetic. He is very affectionate of others, as seen in his interactions with his family, and specifically, Gumball, throughout the series. This love and affection may be a weakness of his, however, as a result, he is very possessive without his loved ones, and feels very lonely when not around them. Such is evidenced in "The Bros" and "The Burden," in which Penny's newfound relationship with Gumball makes him jealous, and presumably for the first time in his life, as suggested by the events of "The Flower." Despite Darwin's general happiness and positivity, he has been known to get angry at times when pushed beyond his limit. Although it is a side not often seen, "The Banana" and "The Words" both display what can occur when Darwin is angry. He can resort to senseless violence when given a reason to do so. Appearances Television Films Relationships Gumball Darwin is Gumball's adoptive brother and best friend. They are almost always seen together, whether it is at school, or home, or off on some crazy misadventure constructed by Gumball. Throughout the show, they have worked together to overcome a sticky situation, even though Gumball was the one that usually pulled them into said situation, and showcasing their strong bond and friendship. It was that same love and friendship that allowed Darwin to grow his legs and lungs as seen in "The Origins," showcasing that the two brothers had special connection from the beginning. As evidenced by "The Sidekick," Gumball looks up to Darwin as a moral guardian, with Darwin being the morale to Gumball's craziness. It is because of this that Darwin can get awfully critical of Gumball when he believes that he has crossed moral line. Despite this criticism, it is all done as an act of love. Like he is towards his other family members, Darwin is very affectionate towards Gumball and can be especially overprotective of him, as seen in "The Safety" when he became overly paranoid. Darwin can be somewhat clingy towards Gumball and does not like being left out most likely deriving from the fact that up until recently, Darwin has always been near Gumball and has not made many independent choices of his own. The fact that Gumball was almost directly responsible for his evolution into his current form is likely another reason. When Gumball starts dating Penny after the events of "The Shell," Darwin goes through a brief but intense phase of jealousy directed at Penny; he fears being left alone without his older brother to care for him. Anais Though Darwin is not as attached to Anais as he is to Gumball, the pair share a rather close sibling relationship. The two share an interesting dynamic in that Darwin is a romanticist, while Anais is a realist. In "The Curse," while Anais tries to prove to Gumball that his bad luck is mere coincidence, Darwin tries to form a formal (though romanticized) hypothesis to appease Anais' formal argument. The two have a strong trust bond, as shown in "The Plan" where Anais responds "of course" when Darwin asks if he trusts her to throw her safely over a wall, although this particular case shows Anais trusting him was a bad decision. In "Halloween" Anais was seen holding Darwin's hand when he was scared whilst walking through the graveyard suggesting that Darwin may see Anais as a sort of "older sibling" figure despite her age. Both siblings can often play as "straight men" to Gumball's more bizarre decisions. In "The Plan," the two teamed up to tell Gumball that he was approaching the e-mail portion of their plan wrong and in "The Oracle," both attempted to make Gumball's attempts to avoid his fate more feasible. In "The Roots," Anais tells Darwin he is her favorite. Nicole Though the two do not seem to interact very often, Nicole sees Darwin as her own son and is rather affectionate with him, in turn he sees her as his mother. When she speaks to Gumball or Anais, she refers to Darwin as "your brother." Due to Nicole's general stressful character, the fact that Darwin's outlook is to appease everyone, he is rarely the center of her wrath. In "The Mothers," when Gumball offers to rework a sign to impress Nicole, Darwin strongly suggests just following her orders and sitting in the car, implying that he respects her parental authority. Darwin expressed his affection for Nicole in "The Mothers" as he was determined to prove to his friends that Nicole was indeed the best mom and was very excited to tell his mom when she eventually ended up winning the competition. In "The World," Darwin and Nicole are shown to be grocery shopping alone, suggesting that they do spend time together occasionally. In "The Meddler," although he admitted that he was embarrassed about having his mother around him and Gumball in school, he forced a smile on himself so he would not hurt Nicole's feelings, once again showing the closeness between the two as Darwin hates hurting loved ones. As expected from Nicole, she too is also very affectionate of Darwin. In "The Roots," she is distressed when evidence initially led her to believe that Darwin was unhappy with the family; she did everything in her power to make sure that Darwin was happy with the family. She was also deeply saddened by Darwin's temporary absence in the episode. Richard Darwin sees Richard as more of a friend than an actual father figure, as seen in episodes such as "The Watch" and in "The Castle," where Richard joins the children's childish antics. Despite this, Richard can still exercise his authority towards Darwin when necessary, such as in the events of "The Password," where the Watterson brothers constantly harassed Richard in order to win the title of "favorite child" (even though it was all an elaborate ploy by their sister). Darwin may also desire to see Richard grow as a father figure as episodes such as "The Castle" have Darwin encouraging Richard to take more parental authority. Like Nicole, Richard is very affectionate of Darwin and would do anything in his power to ensure his safety (even though his incompetence may prevent him from doing such in the most efficient way). When the family thought that Darwin was going to leave in "The Roots," he too lost it and became uncharacteristically depressed and distressed. During "The Goons," Richard stated that Darwin was his favorite child (though he denied that it was the case upon seeing the expressions of Nicole and his other children). Carrie Carrie and Darwin have been friends since the start of the series. However, it would appear that some time before the events of "Halloween," Carrie also becomes Darwin's love interest, as when he becomes a ghost, the first thing he does is kissing her on the lips, claiming it's been something he's wanted to do for a long time, to which she reacts with a blush. Although not much is shown about their feelings for each other during other episodes, in "The Scam" those are much more heavily implied. Carrie even appears to reciprocate Darwin's feelings. Gumball uses the thought of getting closer to Carrie in order to tempt Darwin into following through with their scam, causing him to have a brief romantic fantasy about her. Then, when Carrie required a body to possess in order to eat the candy they gathered, she sheepishly asked Darwin to borrow his, causing him to get nervous as well. Later, Darwin expressed great sadness when Carrie was about to get married to Gargaroth and whisked away to the underworld forever. At the end of the episode, they each awkwardly tried to find an excuse to get the other to hang out with them. In "The Matchmaker," Darwin shows more passion for Carrie than ever and is even more anxious to impress her, going as far as writing a poem, a song and shout out his secrets in her presence. However, due to Gumball's misunderstanding, Carrie reluctantly makes a love potion to use on Darwin and Teri, making them fall in love. After realizing the mistake, Gumball and Carrie try to break them up, only to bring them closer in the process. But when Darwin notices Carrie's heartbroken tear, the spell breaks and he approaches the former and the two finally build up the courage to kiss. It is confirmed in later episodes that, as of the end of "The Matchmaker," they are officially dating. Mr. Robinson Mr. Robinson is somewhat an idol to both Darwin and Gumball. With his brother, he always tries to earn his favor as shown in "The Poltergeist," "The Car," and "The Boss." Ironically, Mr. Robinson despises both Gumball and Darwin for irritating him all the time. In "The Sale," Darwin, along with Gumball, worked to prevent Mr. Robinson selling his house. Tobias Tobias and Darwin's relationship has never been too prominent. In "The Third," Tobias became Darwin and Gumball's friend (for the price of $20). The two quickly became close friends, due to Tobias being athletic and rich, leaving Gumball out. By the end of the day, Darwin and Gumball had reunited, from then, Darwin, along with Gumball refused Tobias to join in with them any further. It is shown in "The Words" that Darwin finds Tobias annoying because he constantly gestures something known as "chunking the deuce." When Darwin finds out Tobias and his mother cheated in the mom-off event in "The Mothers," he is further disappointed in the rainbow lad. Darwin finds even more annoyance with Tobias in "The Slap," finding his new greeting to be very invasive and demeaning. Banana Joe For the most part, Darwin and Banana Joe seem to share a very good friendship; however, in earlier episodes, Banana Joe does not seem to be as friendly with Darwin as he is in later seasons. In "The Gi," he maliciously made fun of Darwin's karate outfit, without any remorse whatsoever. In "The Banana," Gumball accuses Banana Joe of chewing Darwin's pen, but Darwin did not seem to mind. Later, though, when he sees Joe trashed his desk and homework, he goes through a rampage through Joe's stuff in hatred and revenge. Later, still, when Joe offers him a new pen, Darwin feels remorse for what he has done. When Joe reaches his locker, he attacks Gumball and Darwin, but accidentally knocks himself out. Finally, Gumball and Darwin beat themselves up in an effort to make up with Joe, which succeeds, and they become good friends again at the end of the episode. In "The Promise," it is revealed that Darwin cares a lot about his relationship with Banana Joe - when Joe gets mad at him, he does everything in his power to restore their friendship, to the point of breaking his promise with Gumball to play The Tale of Zelmore. From this point forward, Darwin and Banana Joe seem to be very cool with each other, often hanging out and going for ice creams, as seen in "The Roots." Banana Joe also plays harmless, friendly pranks on Darwin, such as the one he pulled in "The Butterfly." Bobert Darwin and Bobert appear to be quite friendly towards one another despite their initial rocky start. In "The Bet," Gumball and Darwin feel sorry for Bobert having no one to play with, so allow him to play with them; however, when one of their games involve Bobert entering slave mode, Darwin calls Gumball out, believing that Bobert needs to be treated with care due to his circumstances. In "The Upgrade," Gumball and Darwin convinced him to upgrade into a new version. During the same episode, Darwin along with his brother come to the realization that they much prefer the original Bobert as they have come to know the original Bobert as their friend, and not a product. In "The Love," both him and Gumball were shocked to discover that Bobert did not understand the concept of love, and the two were eager to teach their friend the joys of love. Quotes Gallery Trivia * Darwin is the only Watterson who does not wear pants. * According to an interview with Ben Bocquelet, Darwin was originally designed for a show where mythical animals hid in a child's backyard. When the show was not produced, he added Darwin to the show, because he liked his design. * Darwin has a major crush on Carrie, as seen in "Halloween," "The Oracle," and "The Scam." ** In "The Oracle," he appears to be embarrassed about it. ** As of "The Matchmaker," the two are dating. * Darwin seems to be multilingual, as he spoke a complex Chinese sentence in "The DVD," and spoke French in "The Treasure," though the latter may only have been a temporary ability gained through hypnosis, and the subtitles for the former only stated "No." ** Darwin is also capable of speaking with non-anthropomorphic animals, as seen in "The Question," "The Traitor," and "The Origins: Part Two." * Darwin can breathe in both water and air. * In Project Exonaut, Darwin is available as an exosuit for 1,000 coins. * In "The Dress," we see that he uses his left hand when he draws Gumball in the dress. However, he does other common tasks with his right hand. This suggests that he may be ambidextrous. It might be a development oversight as well. * On an exclusive video on the official "Elmore Stream-It" YouTube page, it is revealed that Darwin can exhale for much longer than Gumball can. * Darwin most likely has the longest name out of any character. He has seven names, as shown in "The Party." ** Darwin's name is most likely based on the scientist Charles Darwin, who gained fame for his theory of evolution. A fish with legs or a "Darwin fish" is also considered somewhat of a universal symbol for Darwinism. ** "Raglan" may refer to the HMS Raglan, a World War I Royal Navy monitor vessel. The name may also be a reference to the township of Raglan, New Zealand. The town is well known for its surfing, as well as a rare subspecies of dolphin. Darwin has been shown to have the ability to utilize echolocation, as dolphins do. ** "Caspian" is likely a reference to the Caspian Sea, the world's largest enclosed body of water. Prince Caspianis a character in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. Darwin and the prince both possess many similar traits, and Prince Caspian rode through the sea on a ship called The Dawn Treader. ** Ahab, another of Darwin's middle names, is a reference to Captain Ahab, a sea captain obsessed with killing the white whale Moby-Dick in the book of the same name. ** "Poseidon" is a reference to Poseidon (known as Neptune in Roman mythology), the god of the seas from Greek mythology. Poseidon is also the god of horses, and Darwin is shown to be used by Gumball as a mount on more than one occasion. ** Nicodemus the Hagiorite was a saint who lived from 1749-1809. He was purported to possess a love for all things, much like Darwin's seemingly constant outlook on life. Nicodemus was also in the Bible, being 'reborn' as a Christian. This parallels Darwin's transformation from ordinary fish to a "reverse mermaid." * Darwin has a habit of standing in his seat as opposed to sitting down, especially in Season 1. * Darwin was originally a CGI animated character, but this was changed later on because of the difficulties of having a major character animated in this fashion. * In "The Party," Darwin claims to be part suckerfish. * Darwin is quite athletic. He can run as fast as both Anais and Gumball, as shown in "The Quest," "The Kiss," and "The Remote," can climb faster than Gumball, and is a skilled swimmer. * In "The Words," it is revealed he's bald, although in "The Refund," it is shown that he can grow leg hair, as well as scalp hair in "The Voice." * In "The Bet," it is revealed that it took Darwin five years to learn facial expressions, and he still has some trouble recognizing them. * Darwin, along with Evil Turtle, is the only Watterson that is not a mammal of some sort. * The events of "The Origins" and "The Origins: Part Two" reveal that Darwin was given to Gumball because he needed a new pet fish to replace the dead ones. * In "The Game," it is revealed that he is the third of the several fishes named "Darwin" that the Wattersons have owned, hence his name. * In "The Internet," Darwin is shown to be good at playing the ukulele. * In "The Dress," Darwin draws Gumball really well. This could mean Darwin is an expert artist. However in "The Mustache" and "The Procrastinators," his drawings are somewhat juvenile and sloppy. * According to the episode "Halloween," Darwin has samhainophobia, a fear of Halloween. * According to an interview, Darwin was inspired by Ben Bocquelet's childhood friend, Paul. * As revealed in "The Castle" and "The Flakers," Darwin is able to scream at an extremely high-pitched volume. It is so high that it can break the glasses from all the houses of a block. * In "The Recipe," it is revealed that Darwin believes people are born on cabbage patches. * Darwin is affectionate; he likes being kissed, as seen in "The Kiss," holding hands (Gumball mimics him saying so in “The Sidekick”) and hugs, as he states in “The Hero." * In "The Void," Darwin's design from the early reel can be seen in the background of the Void. * In the episode "The Allergy," it is suspected that Darwin is allergic to stupidity, but it is later revealed that actually he is allergic to feathers. * In "The Burden," it is revealed that Darwin is possessive and fears being lonely. ** Also, in the same episode, it is implied that he had previous families when he "talks" to Chris Morris about him not being one of his dads and when he mentions Gumball being his "brother from another mother" in "The Bros." * Darwin likes Mexican food, as indicated in "The Countdown" (when he asks Gumball not to "diss" it because it "rocks"). * As of yet, "The Apprentice," "The Awkwardness," "The Singing," "The Spinoffs," and "The Transformation" are the only episodes that he does not appear in. * According to an early draft of the show, Darwin was originally the class goldfish rather than Gumball's pet. 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